Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-19
vatuu,tom of Property


valuation of Property.
A quorum of the State Board OF
Equalization interviewed us yester-
day on the subject of property valua-
tions. These gentlemen have been
in Los Angeles for some time, and
have entered very minutely into the
examination OF the value OF property
in this county. Their conclusion is
that the assessments for 1856 were in
many instances shamefully below the
real value OF the property. For IN
stance, they said that the assessment
of 1886 was two millions less than
that OF 1885, and so striking a cir
cumstance in the face OF the un-
doubted growth OF our county be-
tween those two years, indicated a
culpable laxity on the part of the AS
SCISSORS to perform their full duty.
They therefore, in pursuing their in
yestigations, found instances OF the
sale OF property for thousands OF dol
lars against assessments oil hundreds.
They have armed themselves with
budget of data OF this kind for use by
the State Board when they meet Tor
the purpose of raising or lowering the
assessments OF counties. The INFER
ences we draw from the circumspect
examination they have given to
property values in Los Angeles
county is that the state Board are
determined that the discrepancy
they found between the assessments
Of 1885 and 1856 shall not again pass
unnoticed. AS we stated yesterday,
there is Il well-defined impression
abroad that County Assessor Mason
will increase the assessment roll
this year from about forty millions
to one hundred and forty. This
would strike everybody as a tre-
mendous' leap upward, if it were a
fact. But no one knows now, not
even the Assessor himself, what the
total roll will be, and therefore the
impression that it will reach that
enormous figure is the result of
merely guess-work. As guess-work,
however, it probably has rational
basis, and has been perhaps arrived
at by grouping together a number OF
we'll ascertained assessments, and
comparing them with the same as
sessments of last year. The increase
would show the ratio Of increase over
last year, and that ratio applied to
the entire roll would probably give
the grand result which seems to have
seized upon the public mind. The
State Equalizers, ,astonishingly enough
to us, did not think that the parallel
we drew yesterday between the asess.
ment OF Los Angeles county at $l40,
000, 900 and San Francisco at $780,
600, 900, would be strikingly unfair to
us. They positively declare, as re-
suit Oh their knowledge of property
values in the two counties, that $780,
0O0, 600 in Los Angeles would by equal
to $3.50 900 900 in San Francisco. But
at the same time, they say, the Asses
sor of Los Angeles county should not
DE guided by the assessment OF other
counties, as he is not presumed to
be assessing any county but his
own. 1t is highly complimentary
to Los Angeles county to tell us
that we have already attained the
opulent eminence of being hall as
rich as San Francisco, even for assess
ment purposes. But the fact would
still remain impressed upon our mind
that the metropolis OF the State, the
financial center OF the West, the city
with its thousands OF warehouses and
magazines filed with costly goods,
with It's shipping and commerce, its
otdtcly ctfctlS anu ioip1 PoioNSo5 ito
handicapped towers and gorgeous
temples, its great factories, refneries
granaries. its massed wealth from the
accommodations OF nearly forty years
Of business prosperity, we say that
Notwithstanding Los Angeles has
made marvellous strides in wealth in
the past five years, yet we cannot be-
lieve, that for assessment or any
other purpose this county should be
rated at one-hali the value of San
francisco. We have no objection to
one county paying her just proportion
OF the taxes with every other county
in the State and as the State Board
is organized for the purpose Of pro-
ducing this equality, we shall not
protest against any fair valuation our
County Assessor shall arrive at, con-
sistent with the real value OF the
property Of our county. II the Board